I was not exaggerating!

My life has been zooming by at high speed lately.  So fast that I actually lost track of the days this week!


This will often happen to me when Monday is a holiday.  Well, this week, we drove home from the Pinnacles and Monday was an unpacking and getting resettled day, so it felt like a weekend day.  When I was making a date to meet fellow bloggers Russ and Donna I thought it was Tuesday when it was actually Wednesday!


Have you ever done that?  I'm not loosing my mind, but sometimes I check the day and date on the top of the computer screen or newspaper because I'm not sure what day it really is!


I had a short but delightful visit with Russ and Donna.  I wish I had more time, but because we went camping last weekend, I had to keep working so the elephant and warthog will be ready for shipping as promised.


Donna has written a very nice post today about our visit.  Craig thinks I was exaggerate the difficulty of parking here. 


This is their description of our road and driveway:


And what a road that is!!  It has more curves than Kim Kardasian, and more twists than a John Grishom mystery.  Not only is it curvy and twisty, it is skinnier than a than a marriage manual written by your maiden aunt Mildred.  On one side is a steep drop-off and on the other is mountain side with a deep ditch running alongside.  We were terrified driving our little Fit up there!  NO WAY would we ever drive a motor home on that road.


So, I was not crazy in being worried.  Craig is doing a great job getting it in and out, but it will always be hard and I will always fret the night before.

I'm stealing this picture that Donna took of me and the Elephant I'm currently working on.  It's hard to take pictures of yourself, and it shows the scale of my work.


Most of my pieces are a little smaller, but this is an Elephant after all!


**************************************************


I want to thank all of you who left great comments on my post about surge protectors.  We have ordered one that will be hardwired into the Alfa.  I feel a bit like we have tempted the wrath of the RV Gods by having dared to go out a couple of times without one! 


 But Craig says to remember the Alfa is almost six years old and has not been damaged.  I have a feeling that the only power the Alfa has slurped has been in high end resorts and not at sometimes iffy rustic parks.  Why? Because she feels so very "unused."  Just a feeling.


Do you get more reliable power in expensive private resorts?

Is it a "female" thing?

I think women need to get together with, and talk to other women more than men need to talk to other men.  


Men may enjoy hunting,  fishing, and watching sports together, but I don't think they talk as much as women do.


I went to visit Levonne again today, and we talked.  I felt very good after spending some time with her. 


I've been in a bit of a "funk" lately, and it was good to be able to talk about it.


 The last time we were together I was the listener.  This time she was.  


Thank you Levonne.  You made a nice lunch too!

What the FBI agent said about meeting other bloggers!

This is a story I have saved for several months, but I think my blogger friends will find it amusing.


When we visit our daughter in San Diego we usually end up spending some time with her friends.  There are four couples that all have kids in the same age range and live in the same neighborhood.  They call each other their "Point Loma Family," and we have gotten to know and love them all as such.


One of the couples happen to both be FBI agents.  Although we don't talk about their work, they have shared a feeling of above average caution about many things. 


At a Christmas get together we were asked about what we were going to do on our remaining days in the city. I told them we had plans to meet Evelyn and Ken, a couple from Wisconsin, who I had gotten to know from blogging.


When the "wife" learned that we had met on the internet she had all sorts of questions for me.  


She calls me "Grandma," and was actually concerned that we would get mugged or swindled. Apparently, going to meet strangers you only know from the internet is a dangerous business. And this may be true for kids and vulnerable singles.


But, whenever I think about her concern, I have to laugh.  When you have followed someone's blog for almost a year, you probably know more about them than you know about your next door neighbor! Lunch at Denny's is not a dangerous event.


It's hard to explain the "blogging community" to someone who has never been here.  I'm sure there might be some shady characters, but I also trust my own judgement.


So next time you have a chance to connect with one of the other blogging couples, remember my story.  


(And laugh.)

Playing with the Blog, and a month review

I decided it was finally time to add a picture of one of my animal head sculptures to my blog.  I didn't at first, because this blog is about getting ready for full timing, not about my art work, but my art work is a big part of my life and I do hope to take a small part of the business with me on the road!


I also played with my header picture.  My dream is getting more clear.

April has been a very busy month.  I have accomplished all of the work around the house that I had planned.  I sold stuff at a Flea Market, finished the wallpaper removal, and hung and steamed the new drapes, and did some art work as well.


I haven't decided what my May jobs are going to be yet.  These last few days of April have brought three new orders, so I will be spending most of next week in the studio.


I do hope to get out for a walk or adventure on Thursday or Friday however.  The weather has been just beautiful and the forest paths are calling.

Exercise Goal:
1000 miles on the treadmill or trail.

2 miles Thursday

2 miles Friday

Total walked = 340 miles  

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles in National Parks!

Redwood Walk

A few weeks ago I wrote that I was going to try to get out a bit more and explore some of the beautiful places in my own home area.


Today I did just that, and met a fellow blogger Kate, at the same time.  


She and her husband Terry live almost across the road from one of our beautiful  parks, Henry Cowell State park.

I met her, and we went for a nice walk in the redwood grove. 


 The trees are SO TALL!

The grove is quite a beautiful place. 


 One of the interesting things about redwoods is how they survive forest fires. I guess if you live for hundreds of years you grow around the fire damage. 

There were also some very interesting gnarly tree trunks along the path.


It seemed every where I looked there was another interesting picture.  


After a while I just enjoyed the sights without bothering with the camera.  


The only negative thing about the park is that since California's budget is in such  bad shape, they have increased the parking fee to $10.  A bit stiff for an hour walk.  I guess I have to get used to paying these fees if I want to see the sights.  


We will get a National Parks Senior pass when we are on the road.


This walk wasn't  an exercise walk. Kate had a sore ankle so we kept it slow and not to long. But it sure was a "nature's eye candy" walk. 


I'm looking froward to getting together with her again in the near future.  She has also introduced me to a place that does auction sales of "stuff."  It doesn't have to be high class collectables, just stuff!